Brazilian men’s side Sesc has signed 4 new players – a reshaping of the club with some of Brazil’s best players, including a member of the 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning team.
New Sesc Signees:
- Mauricio Borges
- Renan
- Joao Rafael de Barros Ferreira
- Tiago Brendle
The new players, along with previously-announced Mauricio Souza and Thiaguinho, in anticipation of the club’s promotion back to Brazil’s Superliga after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Jao/Universo in the Superliga B final.
The group represents players who were often under-utilized by their prior clubs, but could move into starting roles with Sesc.
The 28-year old, 6’6″ (199cm) outside hitter Borges has been a member of the Brazilian Senior National Team since 2010, which includes gold at the 2010 World League, 2011 Pan American Games, 2013 Grand Champions Cup, and culminating in Brazil’s win at last summer’s Olympic Games in front of a home crowd in Rio.
He comes to the club from Arkas Spor in the Turkish league, where he has played since the 2015-2016 season.
Borges saw action in the 3rd set of Brazil’s 3-0 win over Italy in the Olympics.
27-year old Renan, an opposite, comes to the team from Juiz de Fora, who placed 7th in the Superliga last season. He saw limited action, scoring just 6 points (5 kills and 1 block) on the season. Renan played with the Brazilian National Team in 2014.
Joao Rafael joins his new teammate Thiaguinho in coming over from the Italian side Molfetta. The 24-year old played there for the last two seasons, and in 2016-2017 had just 17 points on 15 kills and 2 blocks.
Brendle, a libero, is another intra-league transfer from Campinas – another player with National Team experience. He was one of the last players cut from Brazil’s 2016 Olympic squad. Brendle was Campinas’ starting libero last season.
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